Blogs from LuGu Lake , Yunnan, China, Asia

The overnight train from Chengdu to Xichang in southern Sichuan was again a very easy and comfortable 9 hour trip, and I highly recommend using the trains for long trips. I booked a 2nd class sleeper for $24 and had about 7 hours sleep before arriving in Xichang at 7 am. I found a minivan going to the bus station, and when I arrived 15 minutes later I was lucky to catch the bus to Lugu Hu which was departing in 10 minutes. Lugu Hu is a large lake on the Yunnan/Sichuan border at an altitude of 2700 metres and as I found out attracts quite a few Chinese tourists, and as usual very few foreign ones. My original plan was not to come to Lugu Hu but because foreigners are not allowed into western Sichuan ... read more

Woke up early to catch the sunrise over Qionghai Lake, then hit the roads. I'd remembered passing a sign for the Xichang Satellite Launch Facility not far from Xichang, so I proposed to the team that we visit it before heading for Luguhu Lake. About 30 minutes out of Xichang, through Yi farmland, we reached the facility. Unfortunately the launch site, which is nessled in the mountains, is not open to Laowai (foreigners), but the soldiers at the gate did say we could visit the museum 4km away. What can I say about the museum except that every item looked like a school project. They even had Astronaut suits which you could put on to have your photo taken next to a tin can resembling a rocket. Unfortunately, the suits were not real, and the helmet ... read more

Dear friends, This is our second travelblog of the Lugu Lake area. Enjoy the pictures. See you next time and stay tuned. From Lugu Lake with love. Monkey and Bear. Lieve vrienden en vriendinnen, Dit is de tweede travelblog over het Lugu meer en de schitterende omgeving. Geniet weer van de foto's en stay tuned voor meer reisavonturen. From Lugu Lake with love Monkey and Bear... read more

Next stop, Lugu Lake. From Lijiang we took a bus to the lake which took a good 8 hours of driving through dirt roads that zig zagged up and down mountains. I think it was a miracle that i never got carsick on either journey to or from lugu. The bus station is located in a town called luoshui in lugu. Once there we found a ride to our true destination, lige, a small town farther north up the coast of the lake. The town was really just a bunch of bungalows and restaurants along the lake front and figured to be a nice place to relax. The forest-lined lake overlaps the remote Yunnan-Sichuan border and is home to several tibetan, yi and mosu villages. the mosu are the last practising matriarchal society in the world ... read more

After arriving in Lijiang, (in North-West Yunnan Province) we were transported on perilious mountain roads (think rock falls /landslides /precipitous drops /narrow roads /limited guard rails / slippery mud), for some six hours to the very beautiful Lugu Lake (which borders Sichuan Province). The journey included crossings of some six mountains, and some fantastic scenery, including of the Jinsha River, the upper reaches of the Yangtse River. Sadly there were too few stops in which pictures could be taken! We also passed some amazing agricultural communities, and diverse tribal cultures, including the Naxi, the Pun-Mi, the Li Su and ultimately at Lugu Lake, the Mosuo. It was fascinating to see women working in the fields in their brightly coloured distinctive clothes. Steep hills were grazed by goats, cattle and pigs and often under cultivation. Mud brick ... read more